I have just borrowed from a friend a cassette of an old Nick Dow album - without album title, song title or any credits! On it is a stunner of a song with the repeated refrain, "I sang me song . . .", the gist of it being that in various incarnations the singer sang about a battle he was killed in, sang love songs for a suitor, sang about being a pit worker, loom worker, etc.. It mentions Hastings in the first verse. It's a wonderful capturing of the spirit of traditional music - but what is the song??? Who wrote it??? What is this album??? Help!!!

I have 2 Dow albums - 'A Poor Man's Gift' and 'Burd Margaret' - and it is not on either. However, on 'Poor Man's', he sings a Graham Pratt song - 'The Ballad of Lumley Kettlewell' - and says in his note to it that he had recorded a Graham Pratt song on his previous album. That would probably be it, but I don't know the name of that album. That may at least narrow down your search.

Graham Pratt is indeed the author of the Minstrel. On a long out of print LP he did with his wife Eileen. It has been covered by some other singers as well. I have a copy of the album (somewhere in my disorganized collection) but don't think there was a lyric sheet. It is a good song. Canadian singer, Ken Brown, performs the song sometimes these days as well.

I just remembered that I have the Pratt album. The song is sung solo and unaccompanied by Eileen Pratt. The details are: Graham and Eileen Pratt 'To Friend and Foe' Dingle's Records DIN308. Phil is right - there is no lyric sheet.

It is the Minstrel,by Graham Pratt. It starts off: "I sang my song at Hastings Battle, to praise the deeds of Charlemagne", and I'm sure I posted the words or at least a request for the words sometime last year, probably around July/August/September. So that should narrow it down!!!

The Nick Dow album might be 'A branch of May' or something like that. It's been a while since I saw my copy anywhere....